ipl-logo

Examples Of Okonkwo In Things Fall Apart

1401 Words6 Pages

Within the novel “Things Fall Apart,” the author, Chinua Achebe, explained how a warrior named Okonkwo was a victim of himself. Okonkwo was a victim of tragic events that surrounded his life. These events eventually lead him to his fate. Okonkwo had a father who was weak, and he was a failure in the eyes of the men of the village, Umuofia. Okonkwo’s worst fear was to be the kind of man his father was, so he tried his best not to let his fear become a reality. With a father like Unoka, Okonkwo didn’t get the start as most young men in the village; however, he worked his way to the position of leadership of the clan. There was only one emotion that Okonkwo showed, and it was anger. This was his only emotion because it was how he expressed his feelings. Okonkwo had to leave his fatherland, but after returning home, he found his home unrecognizable. Okonkwo wanted to get revenge against the white man for imprisoning him and the other leaders, but no one in the clan supported his …show more content…

“Unoka, for that was his father’s name, in his day he was lazy and improvident” (Achebe 4). If Unoka got any kind of cowries as payment, he spent it all on palm-wine. He didn’t spent a dime to feed his family. The reason Unoka was a failure was due to the fact that he didn’t bother to prep his garden for yams to grow. Consequently, he was a debtor who owed lots of cowries to many men. “After the death of Unoka, Okonkwo was ashamed to be the son of his father, because in his father’s lifetime, he didn’t take a title or even make a name for himself” (Achebe 8). Yet, the clan didn’t judge a man on the worth of his father, they judged a man’s worth according to his own actions. Unlike his father, Okonkwo was a wealthy farmer who had taken two titles in Umuofia. Furthermore, he had shown incredible prowess as a strong warrior. Though Okonkwo was on the path to greatness, he still feared ending up like his

Show More
Related
802 Words | 4 Pages

In Umuofia, Okonkwo has a high title, earned by demonstrating his achievement in his city. He is recognized everywhere for being a great wrestler who beat Amalinze the Cat. In chapter one, it says that “He brought honor to his village by throwing Amalinze the Cat” (Achebe 3). Okonkwo made it his goal to demonstrate himself powerfully to the community because his father, Unoka, was the opposite. The emotional, lazy, gentile, and unsuccessful Unoka was interested in music and drinking, and he didn 't try hard to make a name for himself.

Read More
387 Words | 2 Pages

Prompt 2 Okonkwo is driven by his hatred of his father and the fear he will become like him. Okonkwo saw his father, Unoka, as a coward and is ashamed to be his son. Everything that Okonkwo does is meant to set him apart from the legacy of his father. First, this is evident in his beating of his wives and even his aggression with his children. He is trying to show his strength and ensure he is not portrayed to be like his father: powerless and incapable.

Read More
1027 Words | 5 Pages

Okonkwo Falls Apart Chinua Achebe offers a rare look at the natives perspective during colonialism in his work Things Fall Apart. The central struggle in the main character Okonkwo is that he is beginning to lose his way of life, and he is not able to do anything about it. Conflicts in religious beliefs with the arrival of the missionaries heightens Okonkwo 's internal aggression, and his inability to adapt leads to his downfall.

Read More
1163 Words | 5 Pages

In “Things Fall Apart” Achebe gives background information on Okonkwo saying “He was a wealthy farmer and had two barns full of yams, and had just married his third wife.” (5). This quotation from chapter one demonstrates that Okonkwo’s nobility of prosperity is revealed by his success’ from his early years and forward. The villagers within Okonkwo’s clan love and honor him for his personal achievements, and he

Read More
623 Words | 3 Pages

The novel “things fall apart” is about the fatal demise of Okonkwo and the igbo culture of Umuofia. Okonkwo is well known and respected leader in his community, who is successful in everything he does, such as wrestling and farming. He is quick with his hands and takes pride in his accomplishments. Okonkwo’s family relationship makes him a sympathetic character because of his support and an unsympathetic character because of his cruelty. In many ways Okonkwo showed that he had no sympathy for others , However at times he could be sympathetic.

Read More
1119 Words | 5 Pages

Okonkwo is the protagonist, so it makes sense for him to demonstrate a lot of pride which he undeniably does. Okonkwo is constantly bragging and boastful talking about how many men he or Umuofia has killed and is constantly scared to be perceived as weak. An early example of this is in chapter 7 when Okonkwo kills Ikemefuna. He is advised by his elders not to go and just stay at home. But Okonkwo goes anyway, which leads to him killing Ikemefuna because "He was afraid of being thought weak.

Read More
965 Words | 4 Pages

In the book “Things Fall Apart“ Okonkwo is a very strong man and from time to time he starts showing his true self. He has a lot of responsibilities and other things he has to do around the living environment and interact with lots of people. Okonkwo changes from being that strong man, to a man who feels like his tribe is not with him when he wants to go to war with the missionaries. For someone like Okonkwo a lot of people looks up to him and while in the tribe Okonkwo beats his wives and children. Not good behavior for someone who is supposedly looked at as strong.

Read More
946 Words | 4 Pages

His father was the exact opposite of what the Igbo people stand for. Unoka, Okonkwo’s father, is a “coward [who] could not bear the sight of blood” (Achebe 6). In turn, Okonkwo became a ruthless warrior who was known across the different tribes. The worst aspect of Unoka is that he was considered to be a failure. This caused Okonkwo “even as a little boy [to resent] his father’s failure” (13).

Read More
1032 Words | 5 Pages

“Why, then, do we educate our children in the liberal studies? It is not because they can bestow virtue, but because they prepare the soul for the reception of virtue” in the text “liberal studies and education” by Seneca, this quote illustrates Seneca’s beliefs in that liberal studies are not the path to virtue in fact he believes that the path to virtue is seen through wisdom. The effects of virtue through wisdom are illustrated in the text through the characteristics of loyalty, kindliness and temperance. Seneca believes an individual achieves virtue when one shows true wisdom he believes that this is not achieved through the studies of liberal studies. Seneca illustrates this through the use of several key points throughout the text.

Read More
855 Words | 4 Pages

Things Fall Apart Everyone has its own unique perspective on certain things. In doing so, one must interact or collide with another throughout life. In Things Fall Apart, the author, Chinua Achebe, attempts to communicate the concept of cultural collision while depicting the life of the Igbo tribe. He creates two main characters with contradicting characteristics and responses to a cultural collision in order to strengthen the theme:

Read More
1774 Words | 8 Pages

Unoka was described as lazy, improvident and not capable of thinking about tomorrow. From this Okonkwo was ashamed of his father and strives to be nothing like him. Okonkwo’s hatred towards his father has hardened his heart and has made him incapable of being a person of compassion and understanding throughout the novel. His hatred for his father has made him fear failure and weakness throughout the story. His fear of failure has brought him to his downfall.

Read More
951 Words | 4 Pages

Eventually, after numerous hardships, Okonkwo earns his success and obtains several barns and wives. This symbolizes wealth and power which were what Okonkwo had been working for all his life. Moreover, Achebe portrays Okonkwo as a fierce warrior and is also represents him as a model clansman in the society:

Read More
2007 Words | 9 Pages

Q1: Explain how Okonkwo’s father, Unoka, influenced his life. A1: Okonkwo’s father, Unoka, influenced Okonkwo’s life because he had been a failure in life. Unoka was a lazy and improvident debtor. In his youth he lived a carefree life and would visit different villages and market to play on his flute and feast.

Read More
508 Words | 3 Pages

His father Unoka was quoted “in his day was lazy and improvident and was quite incapable of thinking about tomorrow”. Basically saying he didn’t care about his life, so in what possible way could he have cared for Okonkwo’s. And his wife Ekwefi he didn’t technically shoot. He didn’t kill so there might have been sympathy there because she was completely defenseless and didn’t die so you can tell he intentionally didn’t kill her.

Read More
1890 Words | 8 Pages

Fear is the core cause of the dramatic shift of lifestyle for both Okonkwo and Nwoye. Through the management of reputation and the avoidance of their father’s likeness, Okonkwo and Nwoye built new lives for themselves. Okonkwo sought power and authority to prove his masculinity and make up for Unoka’s reputation as a weak man. He did this to the point where manliness became his character. Fearlessness and violence were masculine qualities that in Igbo culture signifies strength and influence.

Read More

More about Examples Of Okonkwo In Things Fall Apart

Related Topics

Open Document